Reflections

I should get off my duff and head down to the nearby pond to get a couple of photos but it's cool and threatening to rain and I'm feeling too lazy to do so.  So instead you get a photo from two years ago.  I'm sure it looks pretty much the same today with lots of ducks and geese on the pond.

At the moment I'm sitting out in my sun-less sun room listening and watching the birds at the feeder and in the trees and on the fence.  There are a couple of fledgling grackles who haven't quite figured out flying but have left the nest.  The parents are quite aggressive with any other birds that get near them.  Yesterday I watched two of them attacking a robin and went out to intervene. Today there are fewer smaller birds at the feeder.  I hope these fledglings figure out what they need to do as I'm not really fond of the grackles.  I'd far rather see the sparrows and finches.

Anyway, this wasn't meant to be the blog post today.  As I was enjoying my breakfast and coffee this morning, I was thinking about my retirement.  I jokingly tell everyone who asks that I recommend it and even though it is my attempt at humour retirement has been very good for me.  I've been out of the office for over 6 months now - I don't miss it one bit.  Not the work which at one time I loved, and I certainly don't miss the office politics and petty grievances.  There are some co-workers I keep in contact with, but in general most of those individuals had retired before me.  Occasionally I get a text from someone still at the office, usually asking for a reference but that's about it.  Of course, my son works there too so I do hear of things happening in the office every once in a while.  

One thing I think every retiree (or maybe just most) learn is that it's not difficult to fill the hours in the day.  There were so many things around the house that I did rarely, that now I have time to do frequently.  Of course, having the house up for sale makes for more frequent vacuuming, dusting, and scrubbing than I might do otherwise but even so I'm more attentive to the details. Yesterday, for example, I went out and washed down the deck.  With all the birds attracted to the feeder and bird bath there seems to more poop on the deck.  Where I might have let the rain wash it away, I spent 35 minutes (according to Fitbit) sweeping and mopping it down.  Then we got rain last evening.  

A shirt for Eli - someday

I also have more time for activities I enjoy including gardening, knitting and crocheting and sewing. Too, I've the time (and inclination) to blog more which may or may not be a good thing.  I'm definitely reading more, blogs, books, news articles, and a perennial favorite, court cases.  I know, I'm weird!

A doily - does anyone even use these anymore? 

Yet, with more time I'm finding I'm actually watching less television.  This is partially due to a reduction in the number of channels I subscribe to in order to save costs, but also because I'm busy doing other things.  I think, too, when I was working flopping in front of the television in the evening was just easier after a work day.  I usually didn't feel like putting in any more effort.  So I didn't and thus my weekends were crammed with catching up.  


I know it's still early in my retirement but I can truly say, I'm not bored. (That was something I felt all too often in my final year in the office.)  While I recognize this may be the place I'm at in the moment, I cannot see myself ever thinking that way.  There is still so much I want to do, including volunteering,  taking a class or two, or spending more time on my physical fitness.  Sadly my weight loss has stalled so I know I need to kick it up a notch or two.  In any event, I have a number of goals to achieve yet - continuing to work on my physical health, challenging my mind, and giving back to my community.  

Another lesson I'm learning is about finances.  I'm a spreadsheet person - it's part of my background as an accountant and I haven't given it up in retirement.  I'd created a budget setting up my expected budget, to track my income and expenses/spending and to identify where variances might exist.  When I planned my retirement budget I had two scenarios in mind, one which took into account living in this house, and another where I reduced my costs significantly by selling the house.  The latter provided more opportunity for travel and other enjoyable activities, while the former has much less flexibility.  After tracking for four months I've learned that these days what I have to do is coming well before what I want to do.  Some days I find this a bit of harder lesson than others as I have been presented with a number of opportunities and I must pick and choose, or even perhaps pass up on some of these.  I can't complain though, as I know I'm truly fortunate to be able to retire and even more so, to be able to afford a comfortable lifestyle.  

Just a quick update on the open house.  We had three couples through, two of whom were quite interested but currently have houses of their own up for sale. The third couple are into house flipping so I'm sure they'd find lots of projects in this house.  My agent worked with them several months ago, showing them a number of houses, while they had their current home up for sale.  It has since been sold and now they are looking for a new project.  Everyone liked the layout of the house and none had children so the yard was not an issue.  Unfortunately one of the men has allergies and had to leave the house because of the cats and his wife has a heat sensitivity.  Sunday's temp was in the 30C+ range so the sun room was likely unbearable for her.  And so it continues.

The cats and I spent the time at my friend C's house.  They were in their carriers in the shade outside the gazebo where the two of us were relaxing.  Much nicer than sitting in the car for over two hours!  Her yard is spectacular and the gazebo is set up in the back of the yard so the view is wonderful.  We had a good visit and while Sasha and Saku talked a fair amount I think they enjoyed the fresh air.  

Time to get back to the household chores.  Enjoy your week everyone!